A Mother Knows
by Emily Hoyt
Summary: Claire Meade is no dummy, especially not when her son and his happiness is concerned.


She had watched him twitch and smiled to herself. Daniel always got uncomfortable when someone mentioned his assistant's name during a conversation about his relationships.

Claire walked to Daniel's office and stood in the doorway for several minutes, watching him stare at the couch hidden from her view. She did not need to see it to know who was on it. Daniel leaned back and closed his eyes, a shimmer of a smile fluttering over his face. She watched a moment longer before deciding to have some fun.

"Assistant under the desk again?" she asked, loud enough to surprise her son, but not wake his guest. Daniel started and nearly fell out of his desk chair at the sound of his mother's voice.

"What?!" he let out. The words seemed to filter through his brain and, when they registered, his eyes widened in shock. "No!"

"Shh!" she breathed out quickly. Daniel's eyes immediately snapped towards the couch. "Let me guess."

"She fell asleep and, if she stays past midnight, she gets the town car. She likes it," he said with a smile. Claire crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "What?"

"It's half past midnight already." Claire smiled as Daniel's head hung down. He stayed silent and Claire fought not to burst out laughing. "I'm sorry; what was that again?"

"I… I can't bring myself to wake her up," he mumbled.

"I can," she declared and took a step towards the sleeping form when he stepped forward and stopped her.

"No, I'll…I'll do it," he said softly and Claire chuckled as she stepped away from him for a brief second.

"And you said there's nothing between you."

"There isn't," he said softly and she watched his eyes fall away from hers, the sparkle she was used to suddenly extinguished. She sighed and walked over to him, putting her hand on his back. He looked up and she smiled reassuringly.

"Daniel, just because you had a wild youth and you have your father's last name – and half his genes – doesn't mean you'll let her down. Not if you really love her."

The briefest glimmer of denial rippled across his face, but it passed and left a blush of guilt in its stead.

"I'm pretty transparent, hm?" he asked softly and sighed while Claire let out the tiniest of chuckles.

"A mother knows," she whispered and pulled him into a deep hug. "Daniel, darling, there's nothing you can do about it if you don't admit it to her and to yourself."

"I have."

"No, you haven't, Daniel." She held him at arm's length and looked him in the eyes as she shook her head softly. Daniel continued to disagree.

"No, Mom. I know how I feel. I know how I feel about _her_."

"Then why don't you tell me how you feel about her?"

"You know how I feel."

"No, Daniel, I don't," she whispered, smoothing her hand over his cheek for a moment. He stopped fidgeting and their eyes locked for a second. She smiled tenderly and sighed. "How can I know if I've never heard you say it out loud?" she asked and watched his mouth open and close a few times. She cast a glance over his shoulder. "Your guest is now awake," she said and Daniel whipped around to find Betty sitting up ramrod straight on his couch and staring at him, mouth agape.

"Daniel…" Betty whispered and Claire slunk back to the doorway, leaving Daniel and Betty alone.

"Um, it's past midnight…" he said uncomfortably, shifting and shoving his hands into his pockets.

"You let me sleep so I could take the town car home?" she asked and smiled up at him, but he looked away from her. "Something wrong?"

"No… Yes." He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Betty, would you forgive me if I were to ever do something really stupid?" he asked and watched her eyes narrow, making him laugh nervously. "Right. Been there, done that," he said softly. "Okay… Betty?" he asked once more and turned towards her. "Betty, if I were to do something… right now… that could be interpreted as really stupid, would you forgive me?"

Betty's eyes turned away from his and a look of confusion came over her when she returned her gaze to his.

"I guess that depends… on what you want to do? _And_ to who."

"It's, um… It's something I want to do to you," he said ever so gently and watched a deeper confusion set into her features. "Stand up," he told her and watched her get to her feet in front of him. She shook a little, but she held her ground and looked him straight in the eye. He took slow steps towards her. "I know what I'm about to do may shock you and I'm pretty sure I know how you're going to react, but I've needed to do this for a long time."

When he stopped talking, he was more than in her personal space; he was up close and she teetered a little as she tried to put some kind of distance between them. She was just opening her mouth to ask him what he was trying to do when he placed his hands on her cheeks and pulled her even closer to him. Her breath froze in her throat and she found herself incapable of tearing her eyes away from his.

"Betty," he whispered, licking his lips and swallowing, "what I want to do to you…" His Adam's apple bobbed as his fingers threaded through the hair at her temples, tangling further into the thick locks. Her hands lifted from hanging limply at her sides and, uncertain of what to do with them, they stayed by her side at ninety degree angles.

"Yeah?" she breathed out and watched his head inch closer to hers.

He didn't say another word and pulled her face to his, finally pressing his lips to hers. Her hands settled at his waist for a moment and, hoping that he had not overstepped already, Daniel took the action as a go-ahead, deepening the kiss a little. A strangled noise reverberated in the back of Betty's throat and Daniel's first thought was to pull away before her hand connected with his cheek, but with the sound came the moving of her hands from his waist to his shoulders to his neck, holding him against her. He smiled.

His lips were warm and they moved over hers in whispers, teasing her into deepening the kiss herself at times. She responded with equal enthusiasm and gasped when the tip of his tongue touched her upper lip. Suddenly, his lips were no longer enough and she opened her mouth a little to let him enter.

The feel of his tongue just within her lips was a level pleasure she had never experienced while she had all her clothes on. Being with either of her former boyfriends felt good, but Daniel's exploration of her lips was something out of this world. And, when his tongue met hers, she would have sworn there were electrical scorch marks left behind. They moved in synchronicity and, although their kiss was terribly intense, it was not a mad devouring of each other's mouths either. That was something Betty had not expected Daniel to be capable of and, to be honest, neither had he.

"Betty," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers as they breathed heavily. Her eyelids cracked open only a little and she saw his closed lids as he took deep steadying breaths. She wondered if he regretted his decision already and knew with a sinking sensation, that she would never be able to face him, let alone work for him, ever again.

"What?" she squeaked and bit her lower lip to keep the threatening tears at bay. At the sound of her little voice, Daniel's eyes blinked wide open and he stared into her terrified ones only to smile.

"You haven't slapped me; that's a good sign, isn't it?" he asked and she felt a little of the tension seep out of her with his reassuring and warm smile. She nodded against his head. "Did I do something stupid?" he asked quietly and she saw a similar fear etched into his own handsome features.

"Besides wait this long?" she asked gently and watched his smile grow wider before he crushed his mouth against hers in the hungry, all-consuming kiss she had expected of him. It was hot and boiled her blood until she felt like her legs were made of gelatin. He positively melted her from the inside-out and spooned her against him for a deep and languorous kiss that left them panting like dogs.

"I'm sorry I took so long," he said as they stood gasping in front of each other. She grinned.

"Do you… want to make up for lost time?" she asked shyly and he could not help but chuckle at her, what she thought to be botched, attempt at being seductive. A look of horror flashed across her face and he felt her try to pull away, but held her too tightly for her to break the hold. "I'm sorry… I'm not very good–"

"That was the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me, Miss Suarez," he breathed into her ear, holding several tendrils of hair out of his way, making her shiver in anticipation. "Shall we?" he asked gently and offered her his arm as they moved towards the exit of the office. She accepted, but remained quiet. "What are you thinking?" he asked and she smiled up at him shyly.

"That I've never been so happy it's Friday."


End file.
